ON THE WATER GUIDE: Marylanders Grow Oysters: What’s That?

State Program Provides Free Cages And Oyster Spat To Volunteers Who Want To Help Make An Environmental Difference

Through the Marylanders Grow Oysters program, more than 1,500 waterfront property owners are growing millions of young oysters in cages suspended from private piers. Their goal? To protect the young oysters during their vulnerable first year of life so they may be planted on local sanctuaries where the oysters can enrich the ecosystem and the oyster population.

There is no charge to participants, but the rewards — both personal and ecological — are significant. By fostering these young oysters, our citizen partners are also generating an abundance of fish and other aquatic life and creating live bottom habitats, populated by oysters and other creatures, on sanctuaries closed to harvesting.

Marylanders Grow Oysters is managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources in conjunction with the Oyster Recovery Partnership, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and local organizations. Maryland Department of Public Safety and Corrections inmates produce the cages for the program.

This summer, more than 2 million oysters will be planted in sanctuary areas by the growers in the Marylanders Grow Oysters program. In September 2018, approximately 7,500 cages were stocked with spat to prepare for this summer's plantings. There are 30 tributaries in the program with more than 5,000 people involved to grow oysters to enhance the ecology of the planted sites.

Oysters And You

Young oysters, called spat, are small, vulnerable and subject to numerous stresses in open waters. In your cages, however, they can grow while being protected from smothering silt and from predation by blue crabs. By making your pier a temporary home and providing protection and care for the young oysters, you will give them an optimal start in life.

Through your participation, you will also create new life for the river. Thousands of organisms will inhabit your cages, which will become miniature living oyster reefs suspended from your pier. Each time you pull a cage onto your pier, you'll view an abundance of aquatic life such as mud crabs, grass shrimp, worms and numerous fish such as blennies, gobies, baby eels and minnows — an educational and inspiring experience for you and your family.

Additionally, each cage with spat at about 1 inch in size will filter up to 50 gallons per day per cage. Oysters and other creatures in the cage eat and remove algae, which is far too abundant in the bay.

Given the oyster's function as an important bay species, Maryland and its partners have implemented a large-scale native oyster restoration program; the oysters that you grow will support these efforts.

Getting Started

To begin, you'll need:

• An existing pier or wharf with at least 4 feet of water at low tide located in one of the tributaries selected for the program, including creeks, coves and inlets in that tributary.
• The willingness to provide maintenance for up to four cages of oysters up to 12 months.
• An interest in the welfare of the Chesapeake Bay and becoming a bay and oyster steward.

After I sign up, what can I expect to happen?

You will receive notification from the local sponsor (not DNR) that the cages containing up to 500 oyster spat per cage are ready for pickup in your local community. At the time of pickup, you will receive a short briefing and information package on how to care for your oysters and then receive your oyster cages.

How big are the cages?

The cages are 18 inches long by 1 foot wide. They will weigh about 20 pounds when the oysters are grown after a year.

What do I do with the cages?

On the day you receive your cages, attach them to your pier or wharf (with the rope provided) so the cage hangs at least 6 inches off the bottom, away from sand and silt. The cage shouldn't touch the bottom. Also, the cage should be far enough below the water surface that in frigid winter weather the oysters are not exposed to the freezing air.

What type of maintenance is required?

While the cages and oysters are in your care, little maintenance is required. The main task is to keep them clean and, in the winter, keep them from freezing. Every two weeks, you should rinse your oysters by lifting the cage up and down out of the water to remove silt and sediment buildup. If needed, you can rinse them with a hose if you have one at your pier or you can scrub the cages with a brush and then rinse them by dunking them in the water. You don't need to scrub the shells or the oysters. The goal is to reduce fouling growth on the wire cage so water can flow through to the oysters and so the cage doesn't become too heavy.

During the winter, the oysters will die if exposed to freezing air temperatures; the oysters must be kept entirely in the water even on low winter tides. Place the cages so they are just above the creek bottom to minimize the potential for freezing. In the spring, you can re-raise the cage.

What happens at the end of the growing period?

In about nine months, you will be contacted and arrangements will be made for tributary representatives to collect your oysters for permanent placement on a sanctuary, an area closed to oyster harvesting. You will keep the cages to begin caretaking another group of spat.

What happens after the oysters are collected?

If you want to continue with the program, you will receive new oyster spat. If you elect not to continue, your cages will be collected.

What happens if I have additional questions?

Feel free to contact the Marylanders Grow Oysters program manager, Eric Campbell, at eric.campbell@maryland.gov.